Who are we?

Our Mission

Hello, my name is Joe Singer. Creating experience and unique story structures to achieve meaningful creative and/or social impact in visual storytelling has become my life’s work. My mediums/outlets are: film (art, narrative, and documentary), television, video streaming, multimedia, animation, illustration, and journalism. What you’ll get from me and my collaborators are generous and dedicated film and media professionals with a commitment to storytelling that makes a difference.

About Joe

Joe Singer is a film producer, director, screenwriter, editor and animator whose work with ProPublica, Human Rights Watch, ABC, Disney, Netflix, Frontline, Amazon Video and others has earned Emmy, Murrow, Pulitzer, Peabody, Malofiej, Webby, and National Magazine awards and an Oscar nomination. Singer is one of the founding members of ProPublica’s documentary films department (he is currently a consultant for ProPublica, in addition to other independent film work). He edited and produced (with Katie Campbell) the Emmy award-winner “Rescuing her Father” (ProPublica/Frontline), he co-produced, directed, and animated “John Henryism Explained,” which won the National Magazine Award for Coverage of Race in America, and edited and supervised all post-production for ProPublica’s first feature, “Unprotected,” which won an Edward R. Murrow award and aired on the BBC. Prior to that, Singer edited and supervised animation on the Academy-award-nominated documentary “Knife Skills” and directed the Emmy-nominated 1950s comic book-styled parody, “HowThings Werk” (Disney/ABC). Singer has an MFA in film production from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in Design/Media Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles.

What's a Happy Jak?

FUN FACTS

“Happy Jak” is a term of endearment. When Joe Singer was very young, his parents noticed that he always busied himself with art projects. He never needed entertaining, because he was quite happy to be building or making something. This spirit of self-directed creativity was termed “Happy Jak.” 
 
Happy jak (HAP-ee-JAK) is pronounced as one word and can be hyphenated, such as happy-jak. In sentence usage it may be an adjective, noun, or verb. 
 
      Here is an example:
      Are you happy-jak?
 
Happy Jak Films is represented by a game of chance and a game of skill, since both skill and luck guide the practice of filmmaking.
A young Happy Jak, Corvallis, OR.

Awards Timeline

20 22

The Secret IRS Files
Emmy nomination

CATEGORY: Design and Art Direction
JOE SINGER: Director, Animator, and Designer

20 21

Rescuing Her Father
Emmy winner

CATEGORY: Best Short Documentary
JOE SINGER: Producer & Editor

John Henryism Explained
1) Ellie winner
2) Best of Photojournalism
3) George Polk Award

CATEGORY 1: Coverage of Race in America
CATEGORY 2: Best of Photojournalism
CATEGORY 3: Health Reporting
JOE SINGER: Producer, Director, and Animator

John Henryism Explained
Rescuing Her Father
Pulitzer Prize Finalist

CATEGORY: Coverage During the Pandemic
JOE SINGER: Producer, Director, Editor, and Animator

20 20

Adrift; Disaster in the Pacific
1) Pulitzer Prize winner
2) Online Journalism Award
3) Malofiej Award

CATEGORY 1: Multimedia Story
CATEGORY 2: Digital Video Storytelling
CATEGORY 3: Motion Graphics Animation
JOE SINGER: Animation Director & Editor

20 19

Unprotected
1) Edward R. Murrow Award
2) World Press Photo Award
3) Pictures of the Year Award

CATEGORY 1: Feature Documentary
CATEGORY 2: Feature Documentary
CATEGORY 3: Feature Documentary, 1st Place
JOE SINGER: Animation Director & Editor

20 18

Knife Skills
Academy Award nomination

CATEGORY: Documentary (40min.)
JOE SINGER: Story Consultant & Editor

20 12

Gold's Costly Dividend
Peabody Award winner

CATEGORY: Documentary Short
JOE SINGER: Co-writer & Editor

Acting Up: Russia's Civil Society
Peabody Award winner

CATEGORY: Multimedia
JOE SINGER: Lead Editor

20 11

Dear Obama
Webby Award winner (2)

CATEGORY: Short Documentary
CATEGORY: News & Politics
JOE SINGER: Co-writer & Editor

20 07

Stereopsis
1) Alfred P. Sloan Film Grant
2) Special Commendation
3) First Run Audience Award

CATEGORY 1: Short Film ($20,000 award)
CATEGORY 2: NYU Faculty award: Special Effects
CATEGORY 3: First Run Film Festival, Best Short
JOE SINGER: Writer, Director, Editor, & F/X Producer

19 99

How Things Werk
Emmy nomination

CATEGORY: Best Animated Show
JOE SINGER: Director & Artist/Designer

OUR PARTNERS
Many Thanks!

YOUR TICKET